Sermon for 4/29/12--Fourth Sunday of Easter

Once again, no audio. My apologies. For some reason, our podcast host (buzzsprout) is having trouble with the mp3 recording I tried to upload.

Turning Grief into Joy
John 16:16-22

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 


What does it mean to have resurrection joy?  Jesus said, “I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.”  Simply put, God wants you to have joy in His presence.  This joy from God is not simply happiness or giddiness.  It is not merely the joy you feel being here today.  Instead, it is connected to the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.  Rejoicing in God means connecting your life to the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. At first glance, that sounds easy. But looks can be deceiving. Our text takes place the night Jesus was betrayed.  Just a few hours after He gave the disciples the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said to them:  “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.”  Then He goes into this series of statements about a little while.  “A little while and you will not see me, and again in a little while and you will see me.”  Seven times we hear that phrase, a little while.

For the disciples, there will be a time when he’ll be gone, and a time when He returns.  When did Jesus leave them?  He left them when He was betrayed, suffered and died.  So when did he return to them?  He returned to them when He rose again from the dead.  This is what He means when He says that their sorrow will be turned into joy.  The world rejoiced at His death, but now the people of God rejoice at His resurrection. Jesus said, “A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me.”  Consider the good Lutheran question: “What does this mean?”  Notice that word see.  Jesus says that there will be a time in your lives when you will not be able to see Him.  You can’t experience Him first-hand—not the way the disciples did.  But you know that He is still here.  Remember again Jesus’ words at His Ascension: “Behold I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Jesus promises that He will always be present with you.  God’s presence doesn’t disappear when things get tough.  Indeed, it is when we are weak and helpless that He is strong.

Jesus uses the example of a woman in labor.  A woman in labor has one thing on her mind: bring the child into the world safely.  That’s all that matters.  There is sorrow, yes, and there is pain.  But in a way it doesn’t matter, because the mother knows it will be worth it in the end.  She can endure the hardship because she knows that what will come afterwards will overshadow the pain that came along the way.  This is what Jesus means when He uses the words, a little while.  The suffering and hardship of this life last but a little while.  In the scale of eternity, it just isn’t that important.  Is it real?  Yes.  Do these struggles tear you apart?  Yes, very much so.  But Jesus promises here that He will be with you through every trial.

Remember again the words of our Lord through the Apostle Paul from Romans chapter six: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” When you were baptized, you entered into this “little while” Jesus is talking about.  You are now in the time of sorrow and trials sinners face this life.  This should not surprise you.  Your life is Christ’s life, and like your Lord, you, too, face trials and tribulations in this life.

And notice, too, where these struggles come from.  They come from your daily life.  They come from dealing with your children and your parents.  They come from work and school.  They come from friends.  In other words, the struggles of being a Christian rise out of wherever God has placed you in this life.  God is the one who has made you a father, mother, son or daughter.  He’s the one who has given you a job, or a school.  He’s the one who put you into family and has given you friends.  And so it is in these places that the trials of the baptismal life take their shape. Perhaps this is why God allows sorrow and hardship to befall the Christian.  God wants you to remember that He is God, and that you are not.  He wants to give you all the blessings of eternity; but He can’t do it if you make yourself out to be your own god, or if you pretend that you can make it on your own.

But take heart, dear Christian friends!  Remember again the words of Isaiah: “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”  Even though you live with sorrow for a time today, God will see you through.  You cannot see Jesus with your eyes, but He is very much here, hidden under bread and wine which is His body and blood.  He will give you joy like no other.  You are the children of God, and God always keeps His promises. The time and struggles of this life last just a little while.  There will come a time, soon, when we will no longer even remember these trials, because of the joy in Christ that will be yours—joy that no one can take away from you.  In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.


The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

PARODY: God Save the USA

God Save the U.S.A.

(parody of “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood)

We used to call America
“the Land of the Free”.
We reveled in our liberties
from sea to shining sea.
But now it seems we’re changing
just a little every day.
They’re infringing on our freedoms,
and they’re taking them away.

And I’m scared to be an American,
'cause I'm not that sure I'm free.
And I shouldn’t even write this song
‘cause somebody’s watching me.
Brothers, let me stand up next to you
and defend her still today.
Let us rise up to preserve this land.
God save the USA.


Once the patriots were fighters,
and they stood up for their rights.
Now we have an act called “Patriot”—
keeps our citizens in sight.
They want to take our rifles,
free speech and God away.
Soon they’ll plant a chip in American heads,
lest the people rise and say
          
That I’m scared to be an American,
'cause I'm not that sure I'm free.
And I shouldn’t even write this song
‘cause somebody’s watching me.
Brothers, let me stand up next to you
and defend her still today.
Even now, I know I love this land.
God save the USA.


I am scared to be an American,
'cause I'm not that sure I'm free.
And I shouldn’t even write this song
‘cause somebody’s watching me.
Brothers, let me stand up next to you
and defend her still today.
Even now, I know I love this land.
God save the USA.


© 1984, 2012, 2015 by Lee Greenwood, Alan Kornacki

Sermon for 4/23/12--Funeral of Karen Deppe

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Grace in Affliction
John 14:1-6

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 


According to human wisdom, God is cruel and uncaring. Human wisdom says that no one should ever have to struggle with a horrible disease. Human wisdom says that no one should ever have to stand by and watch a loved one die. “If God really is the loving God the Bible leads people to believe, why would He put His children through something as awful as cancer?” “If Jesus is truly all-powerful, why would He not heal the sick the way He did in the Gospels?” It’s so easy to criticize God for His seeming indifference to His children.

We think the problem is that God doesn’t work the way He should. But the real problem is that you don’t work the way God created you to work. You were created in the image of God. You were not created to sin. You were not created to die. When Adam and Eve decided in the Garden to try to become like God, they did the exact opposite: they distorted the image of God within them. The spirit that had been once been pure was now tainted by sin. The flesh that had been meant to live forever was now corrupted, diseased by sin, and became subject to death. St. Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death.” And the ugly truth is, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” You are a sinful human being. You sin constantly in thought, word and deed, by what you do and by what you leave undone. The burden of sin builds every day, and even a horrible disease like cancer is less than you deserve from the God of righteousness. You see the wages of sin in the hundreds of little pains you experience in the flesh. You see the wages of sin in the emotional turmoil of your daily life. And you have the wages of sin all too clearly and ruthlessly demonstrated in the coffin before you this day.

If the Lord left it there, the death of your body would be the end. Your dead body would be a foretaste of the eternal torment that your sin had earned for you. Your dead body would be evidence that you would be eternally separated from the love of God. But the Lord doesn’t leave it there. Karen’s confirmation verse comes from the Gospel of St. John. You just heard these words, but listen again: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And even those words would be a burden which the sinner could not bear on his own. The sinner has no authority to approach the Father. Sinners don’t even have the right to approach Jesus to ask Him to intercede before the Father. But St. Paul wrote, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He knew that the wages of sin were more than you could bear. He knew that sinners had no way to redeem themselves. He knew that Satan prowls around like a lion, waiting to devour sinners. And so Jesus gave Himself instead. He gave Satan a temporary victory in His own death, so that when He rose again on the third day, the devil’s teeth would be pulled, and Satan would have nothing left with which to devour you.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” I have no doubt this day that Karen Deppe is resting in the arms of her Lord Jesus Christ—not because of her love for Steve or her parents or the rest of her family and friends; not because of her kindness and many years of service and generosity to her neighbors; and not because of the fortitude and patience with which she accepted and endured her own suffering or that of her parents. All of those are wonderful traits, and we can thank God for placing Karen in our lives to share these things with us. But Karen rests in the arms of her Savior because her Savior died bearing her sins. She rests in the arms of her Savior because He rose again, destroying the power of death. And most of all, she rests in the arms of her Savior because, through the waters of Holy Baptism, the death and resurrection of Jesus became her death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit gave faith to Karen so that she could confess her own sins and her very nature as a sinner; and the Spirit gave Karen faith to confess that Jesus Christ was her Lord and Savior. He did this for her; and He does the same for you. Your body will die; but that will not be the end. Because Jesus died and rose again, and because He applies His death and resurrection to you in the waters of Holy Baptism, your body which dies because of sin will be raised and made perfect. You will no longer surrender to sin. You will no longer be prone to disease. Death has no power over you. You will be incorruptible in body and soul, reunited with those you love who have gone before you in the faith, free eternally to praise God for His goodness. By faith, you and Karen will be reunited.

One last thing: sometimes God allows His children to suffer terrible afflictions. It is not because God is cruel or uncaring. The sad reality is that sin has made you vulnerable to illness and suffering and death. But even in the midst of such suffering, He does not leave you alone. Whether you yourself are sick or you are sitting at the bedside of a loved one, your heavenly Father does not leave you to bear your afflictions alone. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” But He comes to you in the midst of your suffering. He knows your torment because He experienced all the torments of sin and death Himself in His earthly life—especially in His suffering and death on the cross. He sustains you in the midst of your suffering. And then, in His great mercy, He calls you out of that suffering to rest from your labors. Karen is no longer in pain, no longer tormented by the ravages of the wages sin. Thanks be to God! And in His great mercy, your heavenly Father will bring an end to your grief and suffering, too. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

   
The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

Sermon for 4/22/12--Third Sunday of Easter

No audio for this one. My apologies. My podcast host is being persnickety.

           

The Shepherd Knows the Sheep
John 10:11-16

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”  These may be the most familiar words in the whole of the Old Testament, if not all of Scripture.  But the Good Shepherd image of Jesus is one that is so familiar to us that there’s a danger we will let it pass through our minds and hearts without really processing what it means. 

King David was that shepherd boy from Bethlehem who grew up to become the greatest of Israel’s kings and the model for all the kings to follow, especially because He was also a forerunner of the Messiah, a prophecy in flesh and blood of the Savior to come.  Think about David and what he did as king; and think of how all of that came to be fulfilled in Jesus. In truth, being a king was, for David, a lot like his role as a shepherd. David protected his people from enemies without and enemies within.  The king administered justice.  It was his job as king to lead and guide his people and to provide for their needs as much as he was able.

Who is it who can really meet your needs?  There is so much to tempt you, to appeal to your insatiable appetite for things that are new and novel.  But who can really satisfy?  And who can fight off the wolves?  Who can protect you?  Who can prepare a banquet table from which you are nourished with every good thing?  Who really cares for you?
This image of the Good Shepherd also says something about pastors.  The Old Testament reading from Ezekiel brings to mind the trouble Israel had with false shepherds, men who were interested in serving only themselves.  These are words of admonition and warning to those who would serve as “under-shepherds” now.  So what does a pastor do to meet the needs of the people in his care?  He may alert them to the dangers of doctrinal errors within the church at large or to spiritual carelessness within his own flock.  He preaches and teaches the Word in a “public” setting like this, and also applies it in private as the situation requires.  He administers the Sacraments of Christ in the sanctuary and in the home.  He can be present with Christ’s people in times of joy and times of sorrow.  He can visit the sick and the hospitalized.  He can “marry and bury,” as it is said.  But he cannot make disease go away.  He cannot ward off death.  He cannot stop someone who insists on destroying Himself with an abusive life.  He is only human.  He makes mistakes and uses poor judgment at times—which means that he is just like his people in that he, too, needs a shepherd. 

Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.”  What does the Good Shepherd do?  “He lays down His life for the sheep.” When Jesus spoke these words, they would have been well understood; we may not understand them quite as well today.  But for societies that depended economically on raising sheep, the welfare of those sheep was a cold reality.  Sheep were raised because their wool was used for clothing and their meat for food; they were the source of the shepherd’s livelihood.  He cared for them because he had an investment in them.  And because he knows them that well, he also knows their many needs. You can’t blame the hired hand if he runs when the wolf attacks; he has no investment in the sheep.  But the true shepherd is prepared to go the limit to keep his sheep from being harmed.  Indeed, the good shepherd will sacrifice his very life for them. 

The Good Shepherd say to you, “I know my own, and My own know Me.” Even for the most transparent of you, it’s not easy for people to know who you really are.  But there is One who knows everything about you, and so He also knows where to lead you.  “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters; He restoreth my soul.”  About this Shepherd, David also says: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.”  This One who calls Himself the Good Shepherd knows best how to feed you and where to lead you.  He knows what you soul needs, and He provides the marvelous feast of His body and blood to feed and sustain you.  And all of this is wonderfully true for all of His sheep.

The Shepherd Savior has been the One guiding you through your life, no matter where you may have wandered.  It doesn’t mean that you have been spared from going through the deep, dark valleys of death and desperation.  Christians are not spared from such things, even as they are not spared from bearing their crosses.  But you have nothing to fear because God has been with you all the time.  And He brings you together to celebrate, to hear His voice, and to be fed from His table.

The Church has not been wrong when it connects this banquet table in the Psalm with the grace of the Sacrament of the Altar.  For you experience in the Word of God the rod and staff that guide you through life, and in the Supper you receive the same assurance David received from his Lord.  For the Sacrament is a gift of life to sheep who live in the shadow of death; it unites you with Him who is the Life of all the living.  The Good Shepherd who laid down His life for you is alive, and He gives you His life. Thus you can say with David: “Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 


The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.  

Sermon for 4/16/12--Funeral of Adele Volkman

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The Spirit Is Willing

Matthew 26:41

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

When Adele went through the Rite of Confirmation on March 25, 1934, the Confirmation verse she received from Pastor Welp was Matthew chapter 26, verse 41, which states, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus spoke these words to Peter, James, and John in the Garden of Gethsemane when He took them aside with Him to pray before His betrayal, trial, and crucifixion. The strange thing is, He knew His disciples would, in fact, give in to temptation. He knew the disciples would flee before the mob that came to arrest Him. He knew Peter would deny Him. He knew all that was about to take place; but still He spoke those words to them.

Minutes before she heard those words, Pastor Welp asked Adele, “Do you intend faithfully to conform all your life to the rule of the divine Word, to be diligent in the use of the means of grace, to walk as it becometh the Gospel of Christ, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to the Triune God, even unto death?” He may have asked it in German; I don’t know. And Adele and her classmates, by the work of the Holy Spirit, answered by saying, “I do so intend, by the grace of God.” What a fearsome promise to extract from thirteen year-old children—or from anyone, for that matter. And as He knew with the disciples in the Garden, our Lord knows that even baptized sinners cannot perfectly keep this promise. It is as the Lord says: “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We sadly observed the weakness of Adele’s flesh over the past few years: the day she fell in her home and hit her head; her more recent difficulties walking; her bout with pneumonia; and, finally, when we learned on Friday that she had been taken from us—that her flesh had become so weak that it could no longer house her willing spirit. And even before these ailments, Adele’s weak flesh was evident in the fact that she was a sinner, as she confessed frequently to her Lord. All of her physical ailments were evidence of the truth that “the wages of sin is death.” And yet, we also saw her willing spirit exhibited at the same time. Vivian passed along a very recent story—and I ask that you forgive my poor paraphrasing. Adele was supposed to be on oxygen after her most recent return from the hospital. She kept asking if she had to stay on the oxygen, and Vivian kept telling her, “You should at least keep it on during the night.” Then one day, Adele told her, “I was tested today, and the oxygen in my blood is fine.” Vivian asked her, “When did you last have the oxygen on?” She was thinking that maybe they had tested Adele right after she’d finished an oxygen treatment. But Adele answered, “It’s been two days!” “The spirit indeed is willing…”

Temptation stands before you this day—the temptation to grieve for Adele hopelessly. Don’t get me wrong: the woman we loved is dead, and there is no shame in honest grief. But we should not grieve as if this is the end. We should not grieve as if we have no hope; for this is not the end—not for Adele, and not for you. We confess in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in…the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” These are words which Adele confessed with confidence not seven days before her death. Beloved in Christ, these are not meaningless phrases. Jesus died bearing our sins; and He rose again to destroy the power of death. Because Adele was a baptized child of God, she will not remain dead. When Christ returns in glory, He will raise up Adele—and not only Adele, but also all those who through Holy Baptism lived by faith in Jesus Christ. We will enjoy a blessed reunion with Adele and with all those we love who have lived and died confessing the risen Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The flesh that was weak because of sin shall be restored and made perfect; the willing spirit will be reunited with that perfected body; and the resurrected faithful shall give praise and glory to God for His goodness.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” This is not the end—not for Adele, and not for you. This is your sure and certain hope: because Jesus rose from the dead, He has raised you to new life with Him in the waters of Holy Baptism; and He will raise you again through those waters to eternal life. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 4/15/12--Second Sunday of Easter

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Wounds 
John 20:19-31 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. 

The prophet Isaiah wrote, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” In other words, the most wonderful good news about Jesus is that He's got holes in Him. The wounds of Christ are your joy and blessing because, in getting those wounds, Jesus saved you from your sins. In keeping those wounds, He showed His disciples that He was the same Jesus who was dead on the cross and now is alive. It is those wounds that Jesus shows to the Father to still His wrath against our sins. And it is those wounds that He shows to you to comfort you against all sin and death. 

Jesus shows His wounds to His disciples. He shows them His hands and His side: the hands where the nails were driven to pin Him to the cross; the side that was pierced to prove that He was indeed dead. If there were no nail and spear holes, if there were no wounds, how could the disciples know that this was really the Jesus who had died? So when Jesus appears, He makes sure to show them where the nails and the spear were. And they rejoiced. They rejoiced because this was proof that the man standing in front of them was no impostor; He was the real Jesus who had been nailed to the cross and died there. Thomas wasn't there the first time; but when he heard about it, he would not believe until he saw the wounds for himself and put his fingers there just to be sure! So the Lord shows His wounds again. 

Jesus also shows His wounds to the Father. The wounds of Jesus tell His Father that you are forgiven. The wounds of Christ are the Lord's eternal reminder to the Father that you are no longer a target for punishment; you are a child of God. As long as Jesus has those wounds, the Father can never condemn you for your sins! After all, the wounds He suffered, the death He underwent, the scars He now bears, are for your sake. Jesus has those holes in Him for you. Jesus was pierced for your sins so that your sins will never pierce you. Jesus carries wounds because He carried your sins so that you won't have to bear them. Jesus, because He is God's Son, can do this. Our sins would kill us. They killed Jesus. But He is alive. And the proof is that the risen Christ who stands among His disciples bears those marks of His suffering death as glorious trophies of His triumph. 

 Jesus shows His wounds to you. He shows them to you by faith. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” You have not seen those wounds with your eyes. But John who was an eyewitness writes that you have victory over the world because of Jesus. You need this victory! This world and your own sins weigh you down. Everyone carries wounds and scars. Sometimes you still have the hurt from what others have done to you. Sometimes you bear the scars of guilt because of what you’ve done to others. Whether they are emotional or physical, your wounds and scars are reminders of the wages of sin. But Christ gives the victory against such things! His wounds of life defeat the power of death. His wounds are your refuge, a place to hide against the world. What can the world do to you? What can the devil say against you? What can your own scars and wounds do? Nothing! But the holes in Jesus' feet and hands and side stand as eternal witness that Christ has defeated the world; and His wounds are the marks of victory for you. 

Christ shows you His wounds by His gifts. You don't see the wounds like Thomas did, but you are shown them by His Word and Sacraments. When God's people complained that they had no hope, Ezekiel was given the vision of the dry bones which were brought back to life by the Spirit of God that was breathed into them. In the same way, when Jesus breathes on His disciples, He is giving them life, and He sends them to deliver the blessings of those wounds to you—first in Baptism, when the water that flowed from His side washed you clean; then in absolution and preaching, the words that apply His victory to your mind and heart; and finally in the Holy Supper of Christ, in which the body that was wounded for you and the blood that poured from those wounds is given you to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins. By these gifts, victory is yours! Death is overcome, and you have hope and comfort in all affliction. 

My brothers and sisters in Christ, the wounds of Jesus are a cause for rejoicing and celebration. They are the holes which prove to Thomas and the disciples that the Jesus who stands before them is the same one they saw crucified. The wounds of Jesus are your protection against the guilt and punishment of sin. Christ's holy wounds are your comfort against all sin and death. Hide there in His wounds! When death frightens you, look to the wounds of Jesus to know that death is powerless. When the devil stalks you, point him to the wounds which defeated Satan. Jesus is the Conqueror of sin and death. By His wounds, you are conquerors of sin and death. By His wounds, you will always recognize the victorious Lamb of God who was slain and reigns now for all eternity. By His wounds, you are healed. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 4/8/12--The Resurrection of Our Lord

Sorry for the delay.

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Who Will Roll Away the Stone?

Mark 16:1-8

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

It’s hard to miss the love and devotion that the women had for their Lord. Early Sunday morning, after the Sabbath, they bring expensive spices to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. Some of these women had been with Jesus for years, and they cared deeply about this man who had healed their hurts and forgiven their sins. But he was dead. What could they do but give Him a proper burial? As they are on the way to the tomb, the thought occurred to them, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Remember that the chief priests had insisted that the tomb be closed and sealed, so that the disciples could not come and steal the body. This was a large stone, and there was no way that three women could move this stone out of the way. In their grief they had forgotten.

It is very easy to forget that God is in control of our lives. This is especially true in the face of death and adversity. How many times had Jesus predicted that He would suffer, die for our sins, and rise again on the third day? How many times? The women knew the prophecies. They knew the story. But in their grief they could not dare to hope. I mean, it is a far-fetched prophecy, after all. And we do the same thing. Our grief, our fears, our sorrows keep us from believing what Jesus had prophesied. Jesus says that if you live and believe in Him, you will never die. Jesus says that His indestructible life is now yours in the waters of Holy Baptism. Jesus says that because He lives, you too will live. We would say with Paul, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” Who will roll the stone away from our hearts?

As the women looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away! And as they entered the tomb, they saw an angel. And they were afraid. He said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here.” Death came through one man, Adam, so many years ago. That death was a result of sin. That sin, that horrible unbelief in a giving, loving God, it was that sin which had to be paid with a price. But not just any price. The price was death. My brothers and sisters in Christ, that price his been paid. Death has been defeated! As St. Paul wrote: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” If you look at the Christ of Good Friday, you see a man mocked, spat upon, with the sin of the whole world laid upon Him. He died for you. But what do you see this day? With the women we see the empty tomb. Christ has risen from the dead, and we rise with Him. That same Jesus who died is alive again. Who will roll the stone away from your heart to give you faith? The Holy Spirit has done so in Holy Baptism.

 So what does this mean for you today? Why does this matter? Is it simply a great story that we repeat year after year after year? No; this is more than a story. This is a reality that goes far deeper than any fairy tale. The Father placed the weight of sin upon His Son’s shoulders. When you look at your life and at yourself, you see sin and the stain of wrongdoing at every turn. But God takes those sins, and He put them upon Jesus. And so it is this morning that we with the women look into the tomb. Is Jesus still there? Are my sins still bound to me like cords of death? Does my life continue as if nothing has happened! No! For the Jesus before you today is risen from the dead! The stone is rolled away; death has no power anymore. And because He is risen from the dead, that stone is rolled away; your sins are gone! You are free! No more guilt, no more fear of death. Your sins are no longer with you; they are left in the tomb. But Christ is not there. Death has no more dominion over Him or over you. Christ is not in the tomb; He is risen! He is here, now, present with you who gather here in His name, present in His body and blood. Death is swallowed up in victory: victory for you; victory for all those who have died in the faith. There is victory and rejoicing this day, for Satan’s kingdom is overthrown and the grave no longer holds us captive. Jesus lives, and you have a hope that is stronger than death. You have a Savior who died and rose again. You have a God who wipes away tears, who knows your suffering better than you know it yourselves, and who will not leave you in the grave, dead in your sins. He is risen, and in the waters of Holy Baptism, He will raise you with Him.

Jesus’ resurrection is the certain and sure hope of your own eternal life. You are free from the power of death. You have been washed in baptismal waters, and you have risen with Him to live forever! Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 3/25/12--Lent V (LSB 1-year)

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Redemption and Opposition

John 8:42-59

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

John’s Gospel is distinct from the other three. All of them, of course, present the truth. But John's Gospel is not a chronology; it does not give us a blow-by-blow account of the various events in the life of Jesus as the others do. John’s Gospel is a presentation of the person and the saving work of Jesus Christ. John shines his light on those words and works of Jesus which reveal Him to be the eternal Son of the heavenly Father, and our Savior from sin, death, and hell. And he also shows us the opposition that rises against Jesus with its evil, even demonic, roots.

Earlier in this same chapter, Jesus had spared the woman caught in adultery. Her accusers would have stoned her to death had Jesus not intervened. But, He challenged her accusers by saying to them, “He who is without sin among you cast the first stone.” Of course, no one there could lift a stone without proving himself to be a hypocrite. But there was another implication in Jesus’ words. The divine wisdom and insight that enabled Him to say what He did implied that He, in fact, was without sin, and would have had every right to cast a stone at the adulteress. The fact that He did not spoke a message that would not have been missed. Jesus then went on to say, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” The Pharisees who heard Him understood that He was staking out a claim for Himself as the Son of God. The battle lines were drawn. The positions were laid out. And that is what our reading presents to us.

There is tremendous drama in this encounter between Jesus and His opponents. Jesus began with a remarkable question. “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” You know they wanted to; but search as they may, none of them could formulate a charge against Him. When He had given them plenty of opportunity, Jesus spoke again. “I tell the truth; why do you not believe me?” Again, there was probably an uncomfortable silence. How could they answer Him? Then, Jesus answered His own question. “You do not hear, because you are not of God.” What did He mean by this? Think of it this way: a man who is tone deaf cannot experience the thrill of music; all he hears is sound that makes little or no sense to him. A man who is color-blind cannot fully appreciate a picture or painting; the colors that distinguish one thing from another are unknown to Him. Even so, without the Spirit, God’s Word means nothing to the man who hears it.

To be told that they were strangers to God stung the Jews, and they reacted as one would expect. “Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan, and that You have a devil?” To be called a Samaritan was to be branded as an eternal enemy of the Jews, a heretic, one whose sole purpose was to lead the people of God away from the truth. This was the state to which they had fallen. The Messiah, the Redeemer of the world, stood before them. But every redeeming word He spoke, every redeeming action He undertook, was met with hateful opposition.

The remarkable thing about this event in the life of Jesus was that He was actually prepared to accept the accusation of sin. That was what His redemptive work was about; bearing the sins of the world upon Himself. As St. Paul said, Jesus was made, literally, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Of course, He had no sin of His own. All that He did and endured, including the abuse heaped on Him on this occasion, was done for sinners; it was in their place. And this is where we enter the story. We may not think that we are opponents of Jesus. We may not be prepared to call Him an enemy of the faith, a deceiver who would lead us astray from the truth of God. And yet, every sin of thought, word, and deed hammers at His redemptive work.

And so, it is only through repentance that we can approach Jesus, our Redeemer. Repentance was the farthest thing from the mind of the Jews. Instead of falling before their Redeemer in sorrow for the way they had abused Him, their opposition grew more fervent and more demonic. They said to Him: “Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” And when the whole discussion was concluded they even took up stones to throw at Him. They would treat Him as their fathers had treated prophets before them. They were not of God, nor would they hear His Word.

Repentance must be our approach to Jesus. Even as He has honored the Father in all that He has said and done, we dishonor Him with our sin and the opposition we raise against Him. We can only come to Him in repentance. And then He says to us: “Most assuredly I say to you, if anyone keeps My Word he shall never see death.” What does He mean here? What does it mean to “keep” His Word? To be sure, it means more than obedience which, I suspect, is how most would understand it. To keep His Word means to treasure it, to hold on to it for dear life, to place a value on it that sets it above everything in this life. It means to love His Word because His Word is Truth and Life. And especially here, He bids us keep those words that speak of His redemption, that He has come to give His life as the “ransom for many,” that He truly is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” And His promise to us as we keep His Word is that we will never see death.

Not too long after this encounter with the Jews, Jesus was called to the graveside of His dear friend, Lazarus. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, were troubled by the fact that Jesus had not arrived in time to spare their brother; they were convinced He would have done that. But as it turned out, there was an even greater and more glorious purpose in allowing Lazarus to die. Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live, and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” And then He raised Lazarus from the grave as proof that those who keep His Word will, indeed, never really die. And by raising Lazarus He was also pointing to His own resurrection. He who kept the Word of His Father would live forever. He made you His own and placed His Word in you in the waters of Holy Baptism, and in those waters He has raised you with Him to eternal life. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 3/18/12--Lent IV

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“Hail, Jesus, King of Our Tummies”
John 6:1-15

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Once again, the crowds had gathered. It was as if the circus had come to town. John tells us that “a great multitude followed [Jesus], because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.” This was not the first time that the crowds had come looking for a spectacle from Jesus. Early in His earthly ministry, the people of His own hometown of Nazareth wanted to witness Jesus doing His thing. And it would not be the last time, either. Herod, too, expected Jesus to perform on demand, even while Jesus stood before him on trial for His life. Before all of them stood the greatest Teacher of all time, teaching about the most important subject ever devised by the mind of God or man. All they wanted was the circus.

It wasn’t necessarily a lack of faith. After all, no one doubted that Jesus had the power to do what they expected Him to do. Jesus had given proof numerous times. He proved it by changing water into wine. He proved it by bringing sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, mobility to the cripple. He proved it in shining splendor on the mountain, appearing in robes that shone with the light of the sun with Moses and Elijah. And He proved it once again in the Gospel for today, feeding the multitude with five loaves of bread and two small fish, with twelve baskets left over.

The sign had been given. The crowd had seen the wonder they had come to see. All it took was for Jesus to fill their stomachs. That was enough for them. They made ready to declare Jesus their king. “Hail, Jesus, King of our tummies! Blessed is He who comes in the name of our appetite!” They had missed the point. They had no idea of what it really meant for Jesus to be the Messiah, even if some of them were inclined to believe that He was the Christ. Jesus had no interest in being an earthly king. He already had a task set before Him. He left the crowd and made His way to the mountain alone.

What is it about Jesus that makes Him the subject of our adoration? For the crowd that day, it was the promise of spectacle and that promise fulfilled in the temporary end of their hunger. And we certainly like to have our bellies filled, too. We know that God gives us “all that we need to support this body and life.” For some, that is enough reason to worship God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And it’s certainly not a bad reason to praise God. But if that’s all God is good for in our eyes, then we, too, have missed the point. As I said, it’s not necessarily a lack of faith. After all, we trust that God will provide.

But what happens when our cups don’t “runneth over”? What happens when our bellies are not fat with cheese and chips and meat and gravy and cream and beer and everything else we desire? What happens when we are blinded against the goodness of God by our own greed and selfishness? When help doesn’t come according to our schedules, we feel as though God has failed us, that He doesn’t love us, that we now have to fend for ourselves somehow. Our ideas concerning Jesus are as hazy as were those of the multitude in the crowd that day on the mountain. We, too, want the Jesus who takes away our hunger. We, too, want the Jesus who heals the sick and gives sight to the blind. We, too, want the Jesus who will work great deeds and wonders.

We don’t realize what kind of Lord we have in Jesus Christ. Jesus is not interested in being just a helper in the things of the body. He is not merely a servant who caters to the desires of the flesh. He knew the hearts and minds of His audience on the mountain that day; He knows the thoughts and desires of our hearts today. He knows exactly what we think of Him. He knows that the Old Adam in us would settle for a Messiah that fulfilled our earthly needs. Sinners that we are, when He tells us why He comes to us, we drive Him away, comfortable in our sinfulness.

He also knows that our needs run deeper than the needs and desires of the flesh. If our needs consisted only in having full plates at dinner, a house, gainful employment, or whatever else it is that we consider needs in our earthly existence, we wouldn’t necessarily need miraculous, divine intervention to have those needs filled. After all, God makes the sun to shine on both the righteous and the unrighteous. We don’t have to believe in God to have a full stomach or a place to lay our heads at night or clothes to cover us.

The real miracle in our text is that the Word does exactly what Jesus says it’s supposed to do. When Jesus speaks, His Word has the power to do exactly what He says. When He tells the eyes of the blind man to open, the man is no longer blind. When He takes up five loaves and two fish to feed the throng, those five loaves and two fish are made to be enough to feed every last person, with food to spare. When He tells us our sins are forgiven, all the iniquity is wiped away. As God says to us through the prophet Isaiah: “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

In knowing that your needs are greater than just the things of your bodies, Jesus came to bring relief and healing to your soul. He came to bring deliverance from your slavery to sin, speaking to you the Word of Holy Absolution. He came to make light the heavy burden of sin which stoops your shoulders and hunches your back, doing so by bearing those sins for you to the cross. He came to earn for you a new life, rising from the grave on the third day so that you would rise with him to newness of life in the waters of Holy Baptism. He came to nourish your soul with His own body and blood.

Jesus did not come to fulfill our earthly desires; He came to deliver us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. He fulfills the needs of our souls, feeding us with another feast in bread and wine that seems inadequate in the eyes of the world. Like the feeding of the five thousand, the miracle here is that Jesus makes perfect for its purpose something which would seem to be lacking. In and under that bread and wine of this Supper is the very body and blood of Jesus Himself, a wedding banquet feast rich and filling and more than merely adequate to do what it is supposed to do. Our souls are satisfied, groaning with the delight of being filled with Jesus. We are made righteous before God, and all because Jesus said He would—for His Word will not return void.

All that, and He graciously fills our bellies, too. God grant us faith to believe and to thank Him for all the riches He provides for our bodies and our souls! In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 3/11/12--Lent III (LSB 1-year)

No audio this week because of a recording snafu. My apologies.

With Me or Against Me?

Luke 11:14-28

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus is headed to Jerusalem for one reason: to save sinners. Where Jesus and His Word appear, the devil is driven away. The devil thinks he's got this world right where he wants it. Satan is no pushover. His army of evil demons and men will do everything it can to stop our salvation from happening. He went after Jesus in the wilderness, but Jesus didn't budge. Jesus is the stronger man in our text who comes and wrestles Satan into submission and takes what is His: and what belongs to Him is you and me!

You have had the devil thrown out of you. It was the day of your baptism. At that moment when you were born from above by water and the word, the devil was cast out of you. At the instant of your being washed with water and the name of the Triune God, the finger of God cast out Satan and the kingdom of God came upon you. Baptism is the Lord Himself at work doing what He did for this man--casting out the devil. Baptism is the Lord Himself shoving the Evil One aside and claiming you as His own. Your old evil foe is kicked out and replaced by the Lord who made you and provides for you, who saves you and who makes you holy for eternal life.

The devil could not stop the coming of God's kingdom when Christ appeared. He could not stop the Lord from snatching you away from him at your baptism. So now he will try everything he can to steal you back. As Jesus says, when an evil spirit is cast out, he wanders around and them comes back with seven more to try to take back the one he possessed. The devil is prowling like a roaring lion seeking to devour you. He has no end of tricks up his sleeve to use to drag you away from Christ. He sneaks his agents into the Church, preaching what is false. He seeks for you to believe that baptism is not a rescue from the devil but a good work you do to show your faith. He sends preachers to tell you that the Christian faith is about prosperity and happiness instead of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins. The devil works hard to keep you away from hearing God's Word, from remembering what your Catechism teaches, from growing in your knowledge of the Scriptures. But his goal is not simply false preaching. He will use anything in your life to drag you away from the Word. He'll try to ruin your marriage. He'll stir up anger and hatred and hurt feelings that will keep people away from God's house. He'll try any trick to get your attention back onto yourself and away from the Word of God. He'll use your secret sins and lusts and fears and work them all into a big mess that wears you down and wears you out and causes you to give up on the Lord.

But one thing will drive all this away. One thing can destroy these temptations and these powers. One thing can remove the accusations of the devil and the weight of your sins. That one thing is the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus. When your sins are forgiven, then the Devil's got nothing on you! So often, your sins cause you to avoid the Lord and His Church. But that’s precisely when you should march up to your pastor with your sins and say, “Pastor, get rid of these for me!” The words of absolution do this. The body and blood of Christ do this. The preaching of Jesus crucified for your sins does this. Whatever sins you have, whatever accuses you before God, Jesus has washed it away. The devil's got nothing on you. He has no leverage. He has no chains around you. He wants to you believe he does, but he doesn't! He's been defeated. You've had the devil cast out before. Make the sign of the cross to remind you of your baptism, and Satan will have no choice but to flee. When the devil brings your sins back to haunt you and trouble you and make you question whether you really are a child of God, then come and receive absolution. When the devil tries to wear you down in your body by throwing diseases and the prospect of death at you, then come and eat Jesus' body and drink His blood. If you have Jesus in you, then there's no way the devil can have you. If Satan wants you, he's got to go through the Christ within you. With these gifts the devil can't touch you.

As long as you are in Christ Jesus, you are safe from the devil. In Christ, your sins can't accuse you. In Christ, death itself cannot harm you. The Pharisees mocked that Jesus cast out demons by the prince of demons. Let them say what they want. He casts out demons by the finger of God. That same finger has touched you and cast out the devil. The kingdom of God has come upon you, and you are safe now in Christ Jesus. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 3/4/12--Lent II (LSB 1-year)

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When Faith is Frustrated

Matthew 15:21-28

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The willingness with which Jesus performed miracles is one of the most comforting truths in the Gospels. We see His gracious power in all of those frustrations that enter human life. Nothing holds back His healing and restoring hand when He chooses to use it. He did not even have to be physically present. The centurion’s servant, as you may recall, was healed by a Word of Jesus spoken some distance from where the servant actually was. Jesus never went out of His way to show off His ability to perform miracles, but He was usually quite ready to answer any sincere request made of Him.

Then comes today’s Gospel reading. A mother comes to Him on behalf of her daughter and, much to our surprise, Jesus has nothing to say to her! In addition to His silence, the disciples even try to send her away. She might well have been ready to add faith to the list of her own frustrations. Certainly, in her life at this point she knew the frustration that, at times, comes with faith. What makes this text frustrating to us is that it seems out of character for Jesus. When Mary asked how it could be that she could bear a Son without a husband, the angel told her that nothing was impossible for God. The disciples were told the same thing time and again when talking about salvation: “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” And when you stop to think of it, isn’t that message of vital importance to our life of faith? What would be the basis for prayer if God were limited in His ability to answer us? If one is going to have faith in God, isn’t it because we expect God to be almighty? This woman, crying out to Jesus, was looking at just such a God. He was almighty. And yet, this God seemed to turn a deaf ear to her. Could there be a greater frustration than having the One who is able to do something not willing to even listen? It would be like knowing about a great scientist who has a cure for cancer, and then finding that he is not willing to share that cure.

What does one do in frustration? Some would be soon convinced that it is all fake. There is nothing to this thing called faith. What is the use of having a God who won’t do anything? Maybe there is another god out there who better fits what a god should be. But the real frustration is that the evidence is so overwhelming. God is God! He is an almighty God! And that is the God to which this woman makes her plea. The very title she uses to address Him makes this clear: “Lord, Son of David.” Even though she was not a descendant of Abraham, still she knew about a Savior who was to come into this world. Here was faith in the true God, the One who could take care of her problem, if He only would. But He didn’t seem to be listening.

What was the reason for the silence? Some would turn away, convinced that there was something wrong with their faith; they would find the cause of Jesus’ silence in themselves. This thought nags at the heart of many more than we may know. Whatever the problem has been, the bottom line is always this: “I deserve to get a cold shoulder, and that is why God is not listening.” And then, often, it is quietly added: “That is why I don’t pray any longer.” When that happens, we have lost sight of the example of this woman. Not only did she know who Jesus was, she knew who she was. She didn’t deserve to come to Him. His mission was not to heal every disease in the world. He had come as the Savior of the world. His death would be for the forgiveness of sins for the entire world, Jew and Gentile alike. But Jesus was sent first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The fact that they refused Him was quite beside the point. God’s decree was going to be accomplished; that had not changed because the Jews had rejected Jesus. This woman was not one of the chosen people. She had no claim on Jesus, either by birth or by blood. Still, she would not be silenced. She was convinced that Jesus could and would do what she asked of Him.

How does one dare to approach God? When we cannot argue on the grounds of what we have deserved, we make our plea on the mercy of God alone. That was exactly what she did. “Have mercy upon me;” those were her very words. When one comes into the presence of God, it is never from a position of strength or advantage to make demands. If we demand justice from Him, then we must be willing to submit ourselves to His completely impartial and righteous justice. Who could stand that? But, if we are willing to seek His mercy, then we find God to be a merciful God. And such was the plea of this woman: mercy—totally undeserved; mercy—asking not for riches, but only for crumbs; mercy—knowing that even crumbs from the hand of God are treasures for those who receive them. And because we know the value of God’s mercy, just as she knew it, we keep on repeating our pleas, even as the Lord waits for the right time to answer. Hearing the words of Jesus, her faith was confirmed. He indeed does what is best for His children. She was certain her case had been heard. The anxious moments of waiting were past; her request was granted.

But should we take her example and make it our own? Yes! That is what “Amen” means; “it shall be so.” That was the assurance offered by St. Paul, when he wrote: “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also freely give us all things?” If we want to know whether God is merciful, then let us look at the measure of grace He offers us at Calvary. Let the blood shed there wash away any doubt you may have. A God who is willing to go to such lengths to care for the needs of your soul is not going to be unconcerned about your physical needs. He may, at first, seem silent, but continue to bring your requests to Him; bring them to Him frequently and fervently in prayer, and do not doubt. He will grant what is best for you, and at the right time, what you requested or something even better. The apostle James knew he was writing a timeless truth when he said: “You have not because you have asked not.” Far too often we are ready to say, “I have asked God, but He is silent; I’ll not bother Him again.” But that is to lose out on the treasures of His mercy. Take the example of one who knew of whom she asked—and asked again and again, and then, at the right time, she received. You, too, have a God who wants to show you His great mercy! In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 2/26/12--Lent I (LSB 1-year)

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From the Beginning

Matthew 4:1-11

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

We’re all familiar with the story of David and Goliath. David was a young man. He was no warrior. He was a shepherd who took care of sheep. His weapons were not swords and armor and the like. His “weapons” were a staff, maybe some small stones to scare away the wolves, and his voice. The way He led his sheep to follow him was not by force or power; it was by his voice. His flock knew his voice, and so would follow him wherever he went. That was what made the Philistines, with Goliath at the front, so offensive to young David. He knew that God is Israel’s true shepherd. They are to listen to his voice, and to follow him. But Saul and all of Israel had forgotten the voice of their true shepherd. They believed the voice of the liar. They believed the lie that they were weak and without strength, and that God Himself had abandoned them. For days Goliath had taunted them with his might and power, and they believed him. They had forgotten God’s promise that He would be with them, that He would fight for them, that they would win the battle by His mighty deliverance. But David remembered. David listened to the voice of the Lord, and won the battle with a stone and the promise of God to be with His children, not matter how great the adversary, no matter what the cost.

David’s son, Jesus, faced a similar battle a thousand years later. Only this time the enemy wasn’t a big Philistine; it was Satan himself. After Jesus fasted 40 days, Satan came to Him when He was weak. Satan believed that he could deceive the Son of God, just as he had deceived the people of Israel on the field with the Philistines so many years ago. He attacked by appealing to Jesus’ pride. If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. What was the temptation for Jesus? The temptation was to take up His power and might as the Son of God and use it for His own benefit and well-being. It was really a temptation to glory. But Jesus, our great champion, would have none of Satan’s lies. He responded with the Word of God: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word which comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus recognized that His nature as the Son of God led him to sacrifice, not to selfish glory. He heard the voice of His Father, who would not leave Him or forsake Him. He trusted in the promise of God when even His own eyes might tell him otherwise. 40 days is a long time to go without food. Did God know what He needed? The answer, of course, is yes. And so Jesus trusted in that Word of God.

That is the temptation that Satan seeks to put before you today and every day of your Lenten journey. We live in a world which on the one hand is much more spiritual than it was even a few years ago. This is a time of patriotism, of family, of tradition, and many other values which we as Lutherans can uphold and say with our fellow Americans, “Yes, that is what makes us who we are.” And yet these very same values which we hold dear as Americans can also be our greatest downfall. Where do we place our trust? Is it in our strength? Family? Tradition? Personal willpower? What is the source of your strength? This question is not simply one of priorities or career setting or whatever other short-term and long-term goals we may have. It goes deeper than that, for it gets to your very identity as a human being. Are we defined by what God Himself gives us by His Word and Spirit, or are we defined by what Satan, the world and our own flesh would have us believe?

Left to our own devices, surely we will fail every time. Even so early on in Jesus ministry, here at His temptation, it was the task of Jesus, day and night, to keep the Law because you cannot. As the new Adam and the greater David, Jesus held true to God’s promise, while we fail. Satan tempts us every day to give in to our passions. Do what you want! You deserve a break today! Give in to the world. And sadly, we do. We put on a good show for church, but deep down, you know that you fail in this fight against Satan. We are like the people of Israel, on the battlefield with the Philistines. In the face of so great an enemy, it is very easy to simply give in to despair, to turn over and not even engage in the battle. What’s the point? You might say in your fear and despair. I know I’m going to fail, so I might as well at least enjoy myself on the way. But this is not the way of faith; it is the way of unbelief and despair. For you see, Jesus knows the struggles you have. He knows your weaknesses and your pains. But more than that. He has lived your pain. His temptation means that He stands with you even now. Your trials are His trials. You need not fear that God doesn’t get your problems. You can hear His voice, and cry out to Him in faith. For when you cry out to God in faith, Jesus cries with you. That is why we can come boldly to the throne of grace.

So don’t be afraid. Christ our Lord goes through Satan’s temptations, and clings to the promises of God for you. You may approach God’s throne of God with confidence, knowing that God hears your prayers, because you pray with His only Son. And He gives you His very body and blood as a sure and certain sign that God’s love for you is everlasting. He will keep you from the evil one. Satan’s power over you is only in his twisted mind. We have a champion who will fight for us, and who will keep us always in God’s loving hands. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

SID in Convention: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Despite some evidence to the contrary, I do not like playing the political game. I've done it when I though it necessary in the young and callow days of my youth, though I am neither mentally nor emotionally equipped for a life of politics, whether it's the state or ecclesiastical kind. I've been bitten in the butt (if you'll pardon the expression) one too many times to enjoy that game, so I avoid these days it when I can. However, sometimes it becomes necessary to put your hand in the flame.

Last week, February 16-18, 2012, the Southern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod met in its 56th triennial convention. It was our duty to elect officers, to listen to reports concerning the district’s activities and health, and to act upon or reject various resolutions which had been submitted to the district for our consideration. Some of those things were fairly agreeable—for example, it took no great deliberation to thank former District President Herb Mueller for his service to the district, service which was interrupted by his sudden drafting into Synodical service as First Vice-President. Upon his departure, Timothy Scharr, who had served as the district’s First Vice-President, was elevated to the office of President; and it was our glad duty to confirm that elevation by electing him to that office so that he could continue his faithful service in that capacity. We also, with few exceptions, elected a fairly good slate of district officials.

However, even in as solid a district as ours, there is never full agreement or cooperation when it comes to our doctrine and practice. A fairly innocuous resolution to encourage the exclusive use of doctrinally pure liturgical materials was so watered down by amendments that it was unpalatable even to some of those who originally supported it. Words like "legalism" and "lack of trust" were thrown around by those who felt their liturgical freedoms were being endangered. At the end of a convention a resolution was introduced to bring the district's differences regarding liturgical uniformity to the Synod's Koinonia Project, a program designed "to discuss and clarify how faithful teaching (doctrine) and faithful doing (practice) are intimately connected and ought be congruent." (In other words, we'll discuss our differences so we'll understand each other better and hopefully find some sort of unity. We'll talk, and then we'll talk, and then we'll talk some more, until we've talked through all the things we need to talk about.)

One of the high points of the convention for me was spending time with y wife. She served as my congregation's lay delegate to the convention and as a member of one of the floor committees. We spent more quality time together in about 48 hours than we have in a long time. Our teenage daughter watched the Terrible Trouble Twins in our hotel room. Since the hotel and convention center were connected, we could visit the kids during breaks and were available in case of emergency. While they played games in our rooms, Faith and I sat together and enjoyed just being "alone" together without the kids getting jealous of our attention--something we don't get to do very often.

Another high point was the presentation of Bishop Wilhelm Weber of the Lutheran Church in South Africa. The LCSA is a mission partner of the Southern District, and it's encouraging to see fellow Lutherans in another part of the world clinging faithfully to the Word of God. In fact, it seems as though their faithfulness is a beacon to the rest of the world, just as Africa was a beacon of early Christianity through such worthies as Saint Augustine and Saint Ambrose. Perhaps they can teach us a thing or two.

The presence of LCMS President Matthew Harrison for the first evening of the convention was a tremendous blessing, especially considering the long day he had already had after testifying before Congress regarding the Obama administration's incursion into the First Amendment rights of both church bodies and individual Christians (and Jews, by the way). He received a standing ovation for his bold and faithful testimony before the princes of this world, and then he taught us boldly from the Word of God.

Something I had never seen before at a district convention was the opportunity for individual confession and absolution. Though I did not avail myself of this opportunity, the fact that it was even offered at what is, in essence, a business meeting, was an encouraging sign for our church body.

And of course, any time a group of pastors gets together, we tend to enjoy periods of relaxation around a Lutheran beverage of choice. Spending time with the brothers over a can, bottle, mug or glass of beer (couldn't find a stein anywhere) is always a pleasant way to pass a few hours time. The consolation of the brothers is a blessing not to be missed.

All was not wine and roses, however. I've already mentioned the lack of unity in doctrine and practice among the delegates. I don't want to dwell on that, lest I get frustrated and cynical (or even more so than usual).

In addition to the obvious disparity in doctrine in practice was what might have seemed a passing comment in a sermon. One of the preachers talked about birth control, saying that those who "close themselves to the possibility of children have something in common with those who are pro-choice." In other words, he taught from the pulpit that those who practice any form of contraception are sinning against the Fifth Commandment. To preach that from the pulpit, while possibly not untrue (though you'd have to have extremely clear and compelling evidence from Scripture to convince me), would require a lot of teaching on the part of a preacher before he could say such a thing without unduly binding the consciences of the sheep in his care. And to throw it in as an offhand statement? Let's just say *I* won't be preaching that from the pulpit any time soon.

For the most part, the convention was a pleasant surprise for me. Not that I'd want to do it all the time, but I suppose I can handle it every three years. I hope my pessimism will prove to be unfounded concerning the Koinonia Project, and I hope that the Lord will restore true unity in the Church. Nonetheless, I won't be surprised if our fellowship remains fractured as long as the Church awaits the return of Christ in glory.

Sermon for 2/19/12--Quinquagesima (LSB 1-year)

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Lord, Have Mercy!

Luke 18:31-43

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Kyrie eleison! Lord, have mercy. It is perhaps the simplest prayer you could pray or sing. Yet within those simple words are packed more great stuff about God than we can hardly imagine. We pray them at least twice in our communion liturgy. We sing it this morning in the office of Matins. Lord, have mercy. The words roll off your tongue like you’ve been saying them your whole life. But what do they mean? What do they tell you about who you are as a sinner and who Jesus is as Lord?

Our text begins with Jesus taking his disciples aside to tell them what’s what. He takes them aside to tell them that he is going to be handed over to the Gentiles, spat upon and mocked, suffer as a common sinner, and die the death of a criminal. This is God’s future. The disciples had been with Jesus for over two years, but the point of His life was hidden from their understanding.

Before we go on to look at the blind man, let’s stop here for a minute. How often is it that you come to church, go to Sunday School or Bible class their whole lives, and yet miss the point? We like to think that just going through the motions is enough. But going through the motions is not the same as faith. Remember that Jesus’ disciples had been with Him every step of the way. Some had even seen Him transfigured before them. They had received a glimpse of God’s glory. Time and time again he had predicted His death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. This was the point! Yet Jesus’ disciples couldn’t believe that He was going to die, even though it was right in front of their faces!

This is true in our own lives as well. Like the seed that went upon the rock or in the thorns from last week, many come week after week, but they don’t hear the simple truth of Law and Gospel: You are a sinner, and Jesus comes to save sinners just like you. It’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it? Jesus wants you to be in His house so that He can forgive your sins and bring you to heaven. This was the message that the disciples couldn’t get, and this is the message that we as sinners forget again and again week after week after week. It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that some stop coming to church entirely.

Let’s move on. Jesus then is on the road to Jericho. While he’s on the road, a crowd of onlookers follows him around. As they are on the road, a blind man alongside the road hears the crowd and asks what’s going on. He heard from the crowd that it was Jesus who was passing by. When he heard this, he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Kyrie eleison! It is the cry of every sinner who needs Jesus. It is the cry of every soul that is weighed down by the cares of this life, by the trials that we all face as children of Adam. It is the cry that doesn’t try to manipulate God or make demands. It is the cry of faith. Kyrie eleison! Lord have mercy.

This blind man, upon hearing that Jesus was close by, cried out to the Son of David for mercy. And notice that this cry continued, even after the crowds tried to shut him up. The blind man cried out because He knew that God would give Him mercy. He knew that God loved Him with an everlasting love. He knew that God would hold him in the palm of His hand and would keep him forever.

Lord, have mercy. What does it mean? It means that the blind man recognized that Jesus is Lord. He recognized that Jesus has power over life and death. Because of this, he could cry out to this Lord for mercy. He asked that God would not give Him what He deserved. He knew that he deserved the blindness of his eyes just like we deserve the blindness that sin brings. But he prayed that God would open his eyes in sight just as He opens our eyes to see His mercy.

The blind man isn’t afraid to ask God what he wants. Are you? Are you afraid to ask God for forgiveness? Are you afraid to ask God to be with you in times of trouble? Are you afraid that God will abandon you when you need Him most? Don’t be afraid. This week’s epistle is the great love chapter--I Corinthians 13. It is perhaps the most beloved chapter in the Bible. But what some miss about this chapter is that Paul is describing God’s love, not ours. God’s love is so deep and wide that it will engulf the sinner in a flood of forgiveness. His love will put you back together when you are beaten and broken by sin and oppression. His love doesn’t look for the easy way out. God’s love goes the very hard road, the road to Calvary and death on a cross. That’s how far His love will go to save you.

This week we begin our Lenten journey to the cross. This is a time of deep reflection for the Christian. This is the time when we look at our sin with the eyes of the Law and realize the depth of our sinfulness. But this is also the time when we look to Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising its shame. This is the time when we cry out with the Church of all ages: Kyrie eleison! Lord, have mercy. And hearing this prayer, even as He did for the blind man, Jesus opens your eyes to see His saving work for you. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 2/12/12--Sexagesima (LSB 1-year)

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Hearing the Word

Luke 8:4-15

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Even to us who live in the midst of agriculture, the image of the sower who sows his seed by hand is something from the distant past. At one time, of course, before the coming of mechanized farming, the figure of the lone farmer hand-casting his seed was commonplace about anywhere in the world, giving this parable an immediate appeal; it was one to which most people could instantly relate. While He spent time in the cities and towns, much of Jesus’ ministry was spent in the little villages and the countryside of Palestine. As time passed, opposition to Jesus began mounting up. The teachers of the law had turned hostile toward Him. The Pharisees were beginning to gang up on Him. He had been driven from the synagogues and even from his hometown. There had been setbacks and discouragements. And now even His disciples and close followers began to show signs of discouragement. Was that great Kingdom of God to which Jesus had called them doomed to failure from the start?

The parables of Jesus normally follow the rules of popular story-telling, which means that the emphasis falls at the end; in this case, the abundant harvest. In spite of all hazards and losses, in the end the farmer reaps a splendid crop. Likewise, in spite of all frustrations and failures, the kingdom of God makes its way, and His harvest exceeds expectation. To be sure, the kingdom of God encounters opposition. It experiences what the world considers failure. Yet it triumphs. Just as unproductive pockets of soil belong to sowing, so opposition and failure belong to history and sinful human nature. But the kingdom of God belongs to the realm of eternity, and what we have to keep always in view is the harvest—not the failures.

To begin with, then, on the lips of Jesus this parable was a ringing encouragement to His disciples to not fear, to have faith in their God. It is still a clear call to all the fearful saints of our day. We see how many enemies have ranged themselves against the Church. We see the Church’s setbacks and failures. All around us are empty pews and dwindling, even dying, congregations. Spiritual apathy seems rampant. We must learn from Christ Himself that, however gloomy the outlook for the Church may seem to be, the Holy Spirit is unceasingly at work wherever the Gospel is preached. That “little flock” which the Good Shepherd gathered on the hillsides of Galilee continues to stand under the blessing of God, and will never be permitted to fade away. Our gracious God, who has already done so much for us through Jesus Christ, will continue doing even more, and can be trusted to complete the good work He has begun in us.

But this was not the only purpose Jesus had in mind when He told this story about the sower and his seed. Make no mistake about it: the description of the various soils is by no means accidental. It is a reflection of His own experience of preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and His awareness of our need to hear it, to listen carefully and attentively to what He is saying.

How do we hear the Gospel? There are various ways of hearing. We can listen only with our ears, as often happens in polite conversation; that is a case of “in one ear and out the other.” This suggests the seed that fell on the footpath; it made no impression at all. Or we can listen with our minds only, as we might do to a great orator. As he is speaking, we may be thrilled and moved by his words and even persuaded, for the moment; but all of those responses evaporate as quickly as did the moisture from the shallow soil. Or we can be listening attentively, only to be distracted by other voices or other life concerns that take over our attention, like the thorns that choked the life out of the young shoots of grain. But, one day that same message is spoken to us in a way that we hear our own name in it; perhaps it is at a moment of sickness or weakness, or at the height of a profound temptation, or in the depths of sorrow and despair. And that is when we hear not with ears only, or with minds only, but with ear and mind and heart, and everything there is about us. Whether or not we are hearing rightly is a matter of life or death! This is the kind of hearing the Gospel calls for, and we must listen!

If we listen to this parable again with this kind of hearing, will we not ask ourselves questions like these? “What kind of soil am I? Am I hard, shallow, thorn-infested soil, or good soil?” Of course, we may brush aside these questions, and say, “I am just the way God made me and there is really nothing to be done about it." There are some who actually think that that is the Biblical view of who we are; but in fact, this sort of fatalism is really a denial of the truth of the Gospel. The grace of God changes hearts and lives! The real truth is that in each of us there is something of all four soils. Do not let the seed of God’s Word fall on hard ground. Don’t be so spiritually shallow that God’s Word cannot take root in you. Weed out those thorns. God will use His Gospel to make you His good soil, receptive to all He does, hearing well everything He says.

As you stand on the far side of the cross and resurrection, you know who the Speaker of the parable is. He is the “Word made flesh,” God’s own dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. He is the one who give moisture to you in Holy Baptism, planting the seed of the Word in you and watering that seed to grow in you. He is the one who weeds out the thorny sins that would choke your faith to death with the words of Holy Absolution. He is the one who shed His blood and died to make your faith fertile, feeding that faith in the Holy Supper unto live everlasting.

What we do with Jesus and the Gospel is of everlasting importance. How we hear Him is everything. Pray to the Lord that, as He sows His Word among us, as He speaks His Gospel to us in Word and in Sacrament, our ears would be wide open to hear Him, and that our hearts would be that good and fertile soil which receives Him. He is the Lord of the harvest, and He will gather you in. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 2/5/12--Septuagesima (LSB 1-year)

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The Unfair God

Matthew 20:1-16

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

To understand rightly the Gospel appointed for today, we need to remember two things. First, Jesus was answering His critics, the Pharisees, who were convinced that their piety entitled them to a special claim on God’s reward. Their complaint was that Jesus was opening the gates of God’s kingdom to all of the undesirable characters in Israel, perhaps even to Gentiles, which would have been unthinkable. The second thing is this: the real heart of the account comes with the settlement after sunset, and the astonishing generosity the owner showed to the late-comers to his vineyard, who, in the eyes of the Pharisees represented the tax collectors and “sinners.” And so, the point is that it is really not the story of the laborers in the vineyard. The owner is the chief character. And that gracious owner, of course, is a picture of God in his remarkable goodness.

Jesus is not talking about economics, but about theology. He is saying that reward in the kingdom of God is not measured by what men deserve, but by the pure grace and goodness of God. In the end, God treats sinners in the same way this vineyard owner treated these unemployed men. Of course, the One who told this parable knew the Father’s nature and will better than any other man born of woman, and what He tells us about God the Father is as true in the year 2012 as it was when first told. God is like that owner. When it comes to pouring out His grace and salvation, He makes no distinctions among His children. God has no red-headed step-children; all are His by creation and by recreation in Jesus Christ. In an earthly family, a good father will give to his children according to their needs and not according to their abilities or what they have deserved. So it is, and even more so, in that great Kingdom over which our heavenly Father rules. God is infinitely good to His children. As David had so wonderfully put it in the Psalms: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy…He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

And yet, some are sure to object that this story is long out of date; the Pharisees Jesus answered are long since dead and buried. But are they really? Does not every age have their counterparts? Does not every generation produce its own crop of Christians who would make a “closed shop” of God’s kingdom, and try to keep out all who do not measure up to their standards, not God’s standards, but theirs? There are always people in the church who assume that their piety gives them a special claim on God’s favor, and they look with something less than the eyes of love on those who seem to them less worthy. Truly they have their reward, for they have earned the respect of their peers. There is no higher honor in this world; but their reward is a worldly one. They have received what they deserve; and to their everlasting regret, that is all they will receive.

How blessed you are that God does not deal with you according to your sins. Where would you and I be if God exacted strict justice for every idle word or thought, for every time you have lashed out in anger at another as a means of dealing with some other problem, for every time you have lied or cheated or in some way deceived your spouse or children or friends? The mercy of God is a wondrous thing. He deals with you in ways you would never deal with each other. For the sake of His dear Son, who bore all punishment for sin, He deals with you patiently, lovingly, forgivingly.

God’s thoughts and ways are not your thoughts and ways. The love of God is broader than the measure of a man’s mind. He sees and knows things about you and what the future holds for you that you cannot know. And a large part of faith is trusting the Lord to always know and do what is right.

God is impartial when rewarding his children with eternal life, for this is not a reward they have earned, but a reward of grace. Does this shock or startle you, that God would reward equally even the poorest and least worthy of Christians with the greatest of His saints? Granted, it does not make sense; and to human ears, this does not sound at all fair. But that is the will of God, and that is what makes it wonderful! After all, it made no sense that God would deliver up His own Son for your sins. It certainly was not “fair” to the perfect and holy Son of the heavenly Father to be punished for what He had not done. But as the parable said, does not the Father have the right to do as He pleases with what is His? And what He has been pleased to do is to offer His Son as the sacrifice for your sin, and then to call you all into His kingdom, that He might pour out on you the riches of His grace in ways that sinners will never fully comprehend! In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.